Chroniqler
Naught but a simple wanderer
(I do not believe this is a worthwhile use of time.) (So what? It barely takes any time, anyway.) (It would likely be wise not to push the limits of our time within each instance, guys.) (Curiosity is a worthwhile cause, and there is only a low probability of this resulting in negative effects.)
Sophos rolled his eyes. There was no need to argue over this so much, not over something so simple, but such was life. More time had been spent discussing the issue than had been spent actually addressing it. He knew this because he'd already sent the message to Yraxia. It wasn't worth debating it like this.
The response was quick and perhaps obvious for what it was, "How would you explain to me the taste of organic flesh?"
The response came slightly slower this time, "Unknown, willing to attempt the experiment. Will attempt to share my sense of taste with you. I do not believe this will work, from my study, human and therefore your own senses are derived from a fully separate paradigm from my own."
Yraxia didn't respond for a few minutes before a message came through, "I do not have a sense of pressure or the ability to detect texture in the manner of humans. The metal I consume is directly pulled into the my stomach analog which uses complex magentic fields and induction heat from my fusion heart to melt the metals and turn them into the needed materials for my body."
Sophos considers that for a moment, thinking of the properties of inorganic materials.
There was a pause before another reply arrived, but it was much the same as previously, "My fusion heart along with phase organs is enough to transmute the needed materials that I can not acquire beyond the Homeworld. Determination between solid and particulate matter is done by analyzing vibrational intensity within the region around us or against our limbs." A moment later another message arrived this time of atomic structures that detailed super heavy elements with atomic weights well into the upper hundreds, "These are the lightest elements that I currently have to synthesize, the technology of humanity is insufficient to achieve economic transmutation of these elements. If you can discover a means to synthesize these I will reveal the next elements that I currently lack direct access too."
Sophos notes the weights. The heaviest element he had knowledge of was Adamantium-350, which… well, there was a reason why the Emperor had declared it standard for Primarch armor and absolutely nothing else. Making these would be a long undertaking.
…
Although.
Yraxia returned a reply quickly, "Indeed that is something that I can provide easily. There is no cost for this for there is no labor of mine to recompense." A moment later a datafile came through with several files listing various elements the heaviest of them being listed as an element with one thousand twenty five protons and twenty five hundred sixty eight neutrons. The rest were scattered between that extreme and 250 atomic weight, including several that had more protons than the heaviest but containing fewer neutrons.
Sophos stared at the files for a moment. (Just a few milliseconds, it's all fine.)
"…stars above…"
So. This was proof that humanity had been able to produce these elements once.
Another thing they had lost. Another thing that could be found again.
"I have attempted it and as expected it has resulted in nonsensical data. I have attempted to correct it, but it has remained unreadable. I expected this result, perhaps you will have superior results as your neural construction is more pliable than my own." Yraxia's response came through a bare few seconds later.
Sophos, other avenues of interest sated (for now), attempts to make use of the first datapacket Yraxia sent him.
There were no flavors, his mind tried to force flavors onto what he was sensing but there were no flavors. It was instead direct and absolute awareness that what he was encountering was iron oxidized with oxygen at a low percentage of completion. It was flavorless and yet it had a visceral response. Every data packet was the same, just weirder and even harder to process.
Sophos had to take some time to recollect himself after each... 'taste'. It was odd.
Though thinking on it, it was not wholly dissimilar to how a highly-advanced technological sensor would likely parse such materials. Full detailing of their composition and the various transformations that were affecting them.
Yraxia's reponse came only a few seconds later to no surprise,"I am surprised that you were able to parse the data. Your offer is accepted, and I do have one question. Do you have a genome?"
"Interesting, I will converse with Tiamat on this matter. This has been an interesting conversation Scholar Sophos. I hope to have more in the future." A moment later the line went dead as Yraxia disconnected.
Sophos rolled his eyes. There was no need to argue over this so much, not over something so simple, but such was life. More time had been spent discussing the issue than had been spent actually addressing it. He knew this because he'd already sent the message to Yraxia. It wasn't worth debating it like this.
>How do metals actually taste to you?|The response was quick and perhaps obvious for what it was, "How would you explain to me the taste of organic flesh?"
>Fair. I suppose part of the issue is that the terminology used to discuss senses are typically developed to be comprehensible to those that share the sense in question, rather than those without it.|>Would it perhaps be possible to convey it through simulations? I am capable of simulating the tastes of things that a human would experience, and while I have no idea if an attempt to provide that input to you would function at all, I suspect it would at least have a greater probability of working than attempting to explain ourselves with words that mean nothing to each other.|>Is it also fair to presume that you, too, are capable of simulating Exatari tastes for yourself?|The response came slightly slower this time, "Unknown, willing to attempt the experiment. Will attempt to share my sense of taste with you. I do not believe this will work, from my study, human and therefore your own senses are derived from a fully separate paradigm from my own."
>I wouldn't be surprised, but it seems unlikely to have negative repercussions, could prove interesting, and may have beneficial results if we're able to make it work.|>I'm sending you a datapacket with a human taste simulation. There will be both simulated foods with an array of flavors as well as corresponding buttons that would, at least for a human, cause them to taste the food's flavor independently of consumption. The texture and consistency of a meal is somewhat important to the human experience of eating and tasting foods, so it may be valuable for you to attempt to actually consume the foods, but the buttons are likely to be more effective for the experiment.|Yraxia didn't respond for a few minutes before a message came through, "I do not have a sense of pressure or the ability to detect texture in the manner of humans. The metal I consume is directly pulled into the my stomach analog which uses complex magentic fields and induction heat from my fusion heart to melt the metals and turn them into the needed materials for my body."
Sophos considers that for a moment, thinking of the properties of inorganic materials.
>Was there never a need to distinguish between relatively loosely-packed surfaces and more solid materials? Sands and stones may be made of the same materials, but interactions with them obviously must be conducted in distinct manners. There's also the different malleabilities of metals, for that matter.|>As for the means of your 'digestions', I suppose that would indeed obviate the need for most senses associated with consumption. Would it be correct to assume that your senses are primarily geared toward identifying the elements you require? Or are there compounds that you need in your diet that cannot be internally manufactured?|>Actually, are there any important nutrients that we haven't been supplying you? I don't want you to suffer any health issues from our ignorance.|There was a pause before another reply arrived, but it was much the same as previously, "My fusion heart along with phase organs is enough to transmute the needed materials that I can not acquire beyond the Homeworld. Determination between solid and particulate matter is done by analyzing vibrational intensity within the region around us or against our limbs." A moment later another message arrived this time of atomic structures that detailed super heavy elements with atomic weights well into the upper hundreds, "These are the lightest elements that I currently have to synthesize, the technology of humanity is insufficient to achieve economic transmutation of these elements. If you can discover a means to synthesize these I will reveal the next elements that I currently lack direct access too."
Sophos notes the weights. The heaviest element he had knowledge of was Adamantium-350, which… well, there was a reason why the Emperor had declared it standard for Primarch armor and absolutely nothing else. Making these would be a long undertaking.
…
Although.
>Humanity is indeed presently not capable of producing elements to your needs, though I am glad that you are capable of producing them yourself. However, considering the atomic mass of the materials you are working with, I must ask: can you provide any information regarding the composition of my own armor? My attempts to study the materials it is constructed of returned inconclusive results, indicating that the involved elements are not known to modern human science, and I could not afford to attempt any more invasive methods of study due to the risk of irreparable damage.|Yraxia returned a reply quickly, "Indeed that is something that I can provide easily. There is no cost for this for there is no labor of mine to recompense." A moment later a datafile came through with several files listing various elements the heaviest of them being listed as an element with one thousand twenty five protons and twenty five hundred sixty eight neutrons. The rest were scattered between that extreme and 250 atomic weight, including several that had more protons than the heaviest but containing fewer neutrons.
Sophos stared at the files for a moment. (Just a few milliseconds, it's all fine.)
"…stars above…"
So. This was proof that humanity had been able to produce these elements once.
Another thing they had lost. Another thing that could be found again.
>Thank you very much. I do not know when we might be able to produce these elements again, but I promise that I will be working to reclaim this knowledge.|>…also, have you attempted the flavor simulation yet? I know that we've drifted from the original topic, but I would still like to know if that worked at all.|"I have attempted it and as expected it has resulted in nonsensical data. I have attempted to correct it, but it has remained unreadable. I expected this result, perhaps you will have superior results as your neural construction is more pliable than my own." Yraxia's response came through a bare few seconds later.
Sophos, other avenues of interest sated (for now), attempts to make use of the first datapacket Yraxia sent him.
There were no flavors, his mind tried to force flavors onto what he was sensing but there were no flavors. It was instead direct and absolute awareness that what he was encountering was iron oxidized with oxygen at a low percentage of completion. It was flavorless and yet it had a visceral response. Every data packet was the same, just weirder and even harder to process.
Sophos had to take some time to recollect himself after each... 'taste'. It was odd.
Though thinking on it, it was not wholly dissimilar to how a highly-advanced technological sensor would likely parse such materials. Full detailing of their composition and the various transformations that were affecting them.
>That was certainly an experience. I was made aggressively aware of the precise composition of each material. It's very *objective*, I suppose. Human tastes are much more subject to variability from person to person, with a few overarching flavors that may be noted based on if one of several compounds are present, as well as being modulated by our sense of smell - another sense I presume you lack a clear analogue to.|>I digress. Thank you for humoring me. This has been quite interesting. If you have any of your own inquiries, feel free to notify me.|Yraxia's reponse came only a few seconds later to no surprise,"I am surprised that you were able to parse the data. Your offer is accepted, and I do have one question. Do you have a genome?"
>My understanding is that I do, although I will direct you toward Tiamat if you want more details on that topic. I am fairly certain that a significant amount of the details of my nature is encoded psionically rather than biologically, however.|"Interesting, I will converse with Tiamat on this matter. This has been an interesting conversation Scholar Sophos. I hope to have more in the future." A moment later the line went dead as Yraxia disconnected.
